Steely Dan: Gaucho (remastered) [UME]

Why you'll love it

This remastered reissue is pressed on 180g vinyl. Gaucho went platinum, reached No. 9 on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording, and "Hey Nineteen" hit No. 10 on the Hot 100.

This edition

• Remastered
• 180g vinyl

About the album

Some bands rehearse; Walter Becker and Donald Fagen auditioned the entire New York and Los Angeles session scene. Gaucho took more than a year in the studio, from 1978 into 1980, and used at least 42 musicians to get seven songs exactly the way they heard them.

The results are as sleek as records get. "Babylon Sisters" rides Bernard Purdie's famous shuffle, "Hey Nineteen" pairs Rick Marotta's drums with Hugh McCracken's guitar for a sly look at the generation gap, and the title track has Jeff Porcaro on drums, Steve Khan on guitar and Tom Scott on tenor sax. "Glamour Profession" glides along for more than seven minutes, Michael Brecker turns up on "Time Out of Mind," and "Third World Man" closes with one of Fagen's most haunting melodies. Gary Katz produced, as he had since the start.

It was nominated for Album of the Year too, and became a cornerstone of what people now call yacht rock. Legend has it Mark Knopfler's guitar on "Time Out of Mind" lasts about 15 seconds; it actually covers more than half the track, which by Steely Dan standards is practically a standing invitation.

Also at Kops: more Steely Dan on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On MCA / Geffen / UMe (cat# B0034896-01), a reissue of the 1980 album.